Washington football: An updated look at the in-state class
Let’s reevaluate Washington football’s in-state class during the 2021 recruiting cycle after some recent rumors and a commitment
Washington football has the opportunity to reel in a historic recruiting class during the 2021 cycle, and the question is, can they capitalize on all the guys in their backyard?
Commits
The Huskies have had five-star quarterback Sam Huard locked up (officially) since the 2018 Apple Cup, and he won’t be going anywhere. Recently, Washington also secured a commitment from Eatonville tight end Caden Jumper. Rumors have been swirling that they might use him as an H-back and not a true tight end, but nonetheless, he’s a great take for the Huskies who could use a player like that leading the way when they want to establish the run.
Prospect updates
On Sunday, Julien Simon out of Lincoln High School in Tacoma, Washington, committed to USC over the Huskies. Simon, a four-star prospect, is rated in the top 100 nationally by 247 Sports. Rumors have been swirling recently that Washington recently began to recruit Simon as a running back instead of a linebacker, which is part of what led to his decision to pick USC.
The biggest fish in the state, and arguably the country, is defensive lineman J.T. Tuimoloau out of Eastside Catholic in Sammamish. He’s had a rollercoaster ride of a recruiting process so far. The rumor mill has been abuzz for a while, with everything from him being a silent commit to Ohio State, to now his recruitment being wide open with USC coming in hot. These are nothing more than rumors, and nothing that was said here can be confirmed, but smoke was coming from numerous places, so it’s worth mentioning here. Don’t expect a commitment anywhere anytime soon, as he’s said before that he wants to take his official visits before deciding .
The final five-star in the state is wide receiver Emeka Egbuka. Wide receivers coach Junior Adams has ties to Egbuka’s high school, Steilacoom, and they’ll really need to come in handy right about now. Almost all crystal ball predictions have swung Ohio State’s way, and rumor has it that Washington is currently sitting in a distant third for the coveted receiver prospect. A lot can change in the coming months, but as of right now it doesn’t look good.
Next on the list is four-star offensive lineman Owen Prentice out of O’Dea High School in Seattle. Prentice is trending upwards on the recruiting trail right now, after receiving an offer from LSU late last week. Prentice added LSU to his final list of schools, and won’t be deciding anything to until after he takes his official visits, but expect his decision to come down to either Washington or Stanford.
Let’s take a look at Will Latu out of Bethel. A Michigan offer changed up his final list of schools, but it seems that he probably will end up staying on the West Coast, as seven of his top 11 schools are Pac-12 programs. Latu fits best in Washington’s defense as a linebacker or a box safety, and he would be a great name to get in the boat soon for Jimmy Lake and his squad.
Finally, we turn our attention to Huard’s curent receivers, four-star prospects Jabez Tinae and Lonyatta Alexander at Kennedy Catholic. Alexander dropped his top five schools while this article was being written, and he included the Huskies in his top five. Tinae took a little longer to receive his Washington offer, but don’t be surprised if he commits before Alexander.
Where do the Dawgs go from here?
Losing Simon was a huge blow to the in-state class, and there are a few great prospects that Lake and staff can turn their attention to, and no matter how great they might be, it might not have the same impact as getting a player like Simon in the boat.
This class still has the potential to be great, but there’s a lot of work to do, and the summer months will be a great measurement to see what this Husky staff is made of.